Team Grant: Supporting Interdisciplinary Research on Avian Influenza (2025)

Eligibility

This section will help applicants confirm their eligibility for proportion of funds from CIHR and/or NSERC. Please refer to the Addendum to the guidelines for the eligibility of applications related to health for guidance on determining the appropriate funding agency for your research expenses.

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met:

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be one of the following:
   • an independent researcher or a knowledge user, affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution and/or its affiliated institutions (including hospitals, research institutes and other non-profit organizations with a mandate for health research and/or knowledge mobilization)
     • If the NPA is a knowledge user, there must be at least one Principal Applicant who is an independent researcher.
   • an individual affiliated with an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge mobilization mandate.
   • an Indigenous non-governmental organization in Canada with a research and/or knowledge translation mandate.
   • a researcher or scholar working in a municipal, provincial or territorial government in Canada where the activity which forms the subject matter of the funding is not being funded by specific programs of those municipal, provincial and territorial governments.
   • a Canadian non-governmental, not-for-profit organization (including community or charitable organizations) with a research or knowledge translation mandate.
2. The NPA must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.

3. The Institution Paid receives and administers the funds on behalf of the NPA and therefore must be authorized by CIHR and NSERC before the funds can be released.

   • If the Institution Paid is not on the List of CIHR Eligible Institutions , they are encouraged to contact the Contact Centre, in advance, to enquire about the authorization process and timelines.
   • For research teams applying for NSERC funds, please consult the List of Eligible Institutions for NSERC.

   Note: NSERC funding can only be transferred to an NSERC eligible applicant at an NSERC eligible institution. If the NPA is not eligible to receive NSERC funding, another Primary Applicant at an NSERC eligible institution must be designated to receive the NSERC portion of funds. If more than 70% of costs are attributable to NSE research activities, the NPA must be an NSERC eligible applicant.

4. The research team (including NPA, PKU, PAs, Co-Applicants and KUs) must be interdisciplinary and must include each of the following participant types:
   • At least one (1) knowledge user (such as industry partners, policy-makers, clinicians, public health practitioners, animal health professionals, representatives from agricultural sectors, wildlife conservation organizations, and local communities, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, where relevant) as a Principal Knowledge User.
   • At least one (1) knowledge user demonstrating the participation and support of a municipal, provincial, territorial or regional government body representing a human health, animal health, agricultural/wildlife, or environmental perspective in the role of Principal Knowledge User.
   • a Knowledge Mobilization (KM) Lead in the role of Principal Knowledge User or Principal Applicant.
5. For applications submitted to the Methods and Tools for Surveillance, Detection and Risk Assessment Pool OR the Community-based Intervention Pool, research proposals must be driven by, co-led, or co-developed in partnership with communities and related partners working in areas with a higher risk of avian influenza transmission, infection, and burden of disease, particularly populations in relevant occupational and rural community settings with higher risks of avian influenza exposure (such as veterinarians, livestock producers, trappers, hunters, workers in the agricultural or wildlife sectors, and Indigenous populations). The representatives from these populations must be identified as Principal Knowledge User(s).

6. For applications involving research with Indigenous communities and/or focused on Indigenous Health Research, the research team must include:

   • At least one (1) applicant who self-identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) and/or provides evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples (see How to Apply for more details) in the role of NPA, PA, or a Principal Knowledge User;
   • at least one (1) team member who is an Indigenous Elder or Knowledge Keeper*.

   * A Knowledge Keeper (also known as a Knowledge Holder or Knowledge Guardian) is an Indigenous person, regardless of age, who possesses the Indigenous cultural knowledge necessary for the proposed research project or activities, as recognized, validated, and authenticated by the Indigenous community.

In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements above, the following criteria apply for competition partners:

7. For research teams applying for funds from Michael Smith Health Research BC, if the Institution Paid is not on the List of Eligible Institutions for Michael Smith Health Research BC, they are encouraged to contact Michael Smith Health Research BC directly, in advance, to enquire about the authorization process and timelines.
8. ALL applications, irrespective of Research Area, that are submitted to this funding opportunity require a minimum of 25% of their budget attributed to NSE-related expenses. Consult NSERCs - Addendum to the guidelines for the eligibility of applications related to health for more information.

Summary

This Funding Opportunity (FO) will provide multi-year funding for research teams to generate robust, interdisciplinary and timely scientific evidence on avian influenza (including the integration of local, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Knowledges), and to mobilize knowledge and research evidence so that decision-makers and knowledge users across human, animal, and environmental sectors, are better able to prevent, prepare for, and respond to avian influenza outbreaks in humans, animals, and the environment.

Given the direct and indirect impacts of outbreaks and sustained transmission of avian influenza on diverse sectors and populations (including domestic/companion animals, farmed animals, wild animals, and human communities), this FO will fund interdisciplinary research approaches that leverage knowledge, perspectives and capacities at the interface of human, animal, and environmental systems. In addition, this FO will support research that will lead to improvements in the prevention and control of avian influenza outbreaks in communities in Canada with a higher risk of infection due to occupational, recreational, or cultural contexts, and for whom personal protective equipment or medical countermeasures may be inaccessible, unavailable, or not accepted. These populations include but are not limited to agricultural producers and workers, wildlife workers, hunters, Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) communities and populations in rural and remote settings.

Research Areas

Five separate funding pools will support projects relevant to the following Research Areas. Please note that applications are welcome to address research priorities that cross more than one research area. However, to support the matching of applications to the most appropriate peer reviewers, we require applicants to select one (1) research area that best describes their proposed research.

1. Virological and Epidemiological Drivers of Health Impacts of Avian Influenza Pool
2. Methods and Tools for Surveillance, Detection and Risk Assessment in Humans, Animals, and the Environment Pool
3. Community-based Intervention Research for Avian Influenza Prevention, Control and Mitigation Pool
4. Intervention Research and Implementation Science on Avian Influenza Medical Countermeasures Pool
5. Indigenous Health Research for Avian Influenza Preparedness, Prevention, and Response Pool

Overhead

n/a 

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Submission Process

Complete LOI application PDF and an approved LOI/pre-award record in RMS are required by RSO by noon, September 26, 2025. Please be sure to select "Submitted for approvals" (Under Save & Progress) in RMS in enough time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the Research Services deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines. A step sheet for creating an LOI record in RMS is available in the Resources section below.

Once RMS approval and/or institutional signature have been obtained for your LOI, you may proceed with submitting to CIHR through ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on October 2, 2025.

Invited to Full Application

Full application and approved application/pre-award record are required by RSO by noon, May 11, 2026. Please be sure to select "Submitted for approvals" (Under Save & Progress) in RMS in enough time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the Research Services deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines. A step sheet for creating an application record in RMS is available in the Resources section below.

Do not submit through ResearchNet until RSO's signature has been granted. 

Once institutional signature has been obtained, a copy of the CIHR signature page will be available via the RMS record, under Documents (must be in 'Edit' view). Upload the CIHR signature page including the routing slip in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on May 14, 2026.

**Note: This opportunity used the new Tri-Agency Narrative CV (TCV). For opportunities requiring the Tri-Agency CV, a Research Contributions attachment, or a Most Significant Contributions statement, applicants can refer to the Narrative CV Support webpage. 

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be!

Contact the following Research Service units for support with:

Projects Involving Indigenous Research:

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management is available through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST).

Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team.

Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca.

For more information and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage.

Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca.

EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice.

Contact edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Research Security:

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC).

Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

Pre-Award Submissions:

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award LOI
RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application